The Los Angeles Lakers looked they were going to fumble another second-half lead but ultimately strung together enough winning plays to pull out a thrilling overtime victory over the young and exciting Charlotte Hornets.
It was a pretty evenly matched contest throughout the first half before the Hornets took control in the third quarter after the Lakers came out slow. However, the bench unit for Los Angeles sparked the team on both ends and allowed them to ride a lead for most of the fourth quarter until a few ill-timed calls and turnovers allowed Charlotte to force the extra period.
It was there that Anthony Davis and Carmelo Anthony closed out the night and made sure the Lakers avoided another disappointing loss.
Anthony Davis, who is still dealing with a sprained thumb and stomach illness, led the charge for the Lakers as he stuffed the stat sheet. Davis played 44 minutes despite being sick and amassed 32 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, five blocks and three steals. Davis did most of his damage around the rim, particularly flushing lobs from Russell Westbrook and Rajon Rondo.
While Davis was the leader in most of the box score stats, it was Anthony who stole the show at Staples Center as he erupted for 29 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 7-of-10 from beyond the arc. Anthony has been off to a hot start to the 2021-22 season shooting the basketball, and he was the main reason why Los Angeles was able to come up with the win as his seventh three of the night gave them the lead in overtime.
Aside from Davis and Anthony, Westbrook had a good game from a box score perspective as he recorded his second triple-double as a member of the Lakers. Westbrook had 17 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds though his performance was marred by the seven turnovers he committed. Most of his turnovers came in the fourth quarter and they directly turned into scoring opportunities for the Hornets.
As a team, the Lakers shot above 40 percent from beyond the arc and forced 18 Hornets turnovers compared to 15 of their own. Although they lost in the fast break points and points in the paint categories, they did rack up 30 assists.
up next for the Lakers…
Los Angeles gets a tough test when they host the Miami Heat on Wednesday. The Heat have their own Big 3 of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry so without LeBron James available, the Purple and Gold will have their work cut out for them.
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